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Friday, July 22, 2011

Today’s post is dedicated to the DIY5K, created by Jaemie over at www.diy5k.com. This month we were tasked with a scavenger hunt. I ran 5.75 today, in conjunction with Colleen over at www.thefitbee.com, as part of our training for Philly2011. whew. tired already….so here are the pics!!!!

Green AND wheel(s).….

Arrow:

Numbers:

Closed

Fire

Shadow. very faint, on the left.

Round

Man Made

Path

Group

Foot

TheEnd

It was a fun project! Being an early morning in an area that I don’t know much about kinda forced me to look around and not just run. Thank you, Jaemie, for the fun idea!!!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Check it out....In the photo below, our son Bryce (5) is driving a go-kart. He barely met the height requirement, and when he got into the seat, it was all he could do to press the pedal. But press it he did, for 4 of the best minutes of his little life! Round and round he went, only grazing the barrier once or twice. It was the first time he had ever been behind the wheel of anything like this. We have big-wheels and such at home, but none of those motorized toys.

Poor kid can barely see past the steering wheel, yet he leaped at the chance to ride a go-kart. He had no idea what he was getting into, only the basics of what needed to be done.

And he rose to the challenge.

And he was happy.

And so were we.

How many times have you been faced with something that you wanted to do, but never really knew what you were doing? You had the basics, but couldn't quite see where you were going. What did you do? Did you stand off to the side watching others try it out, or did you jump into the driver's seat and take charge of your dreams

My advice to you (and as importantly, to myself) is to jump in! Strap on those safety belts and GO FOR IT!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

No, this isn’t me. But it IS where we are going. Wildwood, NJ. Apparently there is an ocean, some sand, a whole buncha people, and not many dollars left in our pockets. And yes, most likely, corn dogs on a stick. What is perhaps even more disturbing than the intended subject of this photo is the person just over his right shoulder. Check it out. Scary.

Perhaps the beach will be like this, though, and all will be right in the world…

I have a sinking feeling, though, that they will be more like this:

Which will roast my coconuts. Then I’ll do this…

(oops. excuse me!)

and then the beach will look like this…

And all will be well in the world. Well, at least in mine.

JUST KIDDING. Sheesh. I am going at this vacation with new eyes, and a new attitude. Wish me luck. Tweet me. Email me.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

At class last night we did repeats. I try to send out the next week's schedule ahead of time, and have not made this goal only twice, i think. This past week, I was certain to send it out in time, you know, just to give the students the chance to get psyched up to run half mile (800M) repeats.

Mother Nature must have hijacked the emails, because she was doing repeats, too; only hers weren't negatives. As the evening wore on, the breeze went away, and the temps went up. We probably finished 5 degrees warmer than when we started, and we were at the track for less than 45 minutes.

This isnt' the track that we use. Ours only has 6 lanes, and the 6th lane, especially in front of the bleachers, is usually littered with hurdles. ANYWAY, we are thankful to be able to use the track at a rival high school, so you generally won't hear us complain.

The ladies did a great job! I was very happy for them; some tried to beat some personal bests for time, others for distance running versus walking. I tried my best to run/walk with everyone, but that gets tough to do. I am never quite sure if my being there is helpful or hinderful....but I am there, just the same!

Overall the class is going very well. Ladies still seem motivated and challenged. We were talking about running the route of August's 5k in the week between the end of class and the event. I think that it would be a great idea!

I am really glad that I decided to do this!!! Thank you for your encouragement along the way.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

In April I attended some wellness coach training sponsored by my employer. It was a good coupla days, and I got to spend some time wandering around the Mall of America during the off hours.
During the coaching sessions, one of the tools presented was the old "scale of 0 to 10" questions. We've all heard them, right? But what caught my attention was the follow up question, that I'd never heard of....but I'll get to that in a moment.
What brough this to my mind was a posting that I read yesterday over at http://www.counselormusings.blogspot.com/. I really like her site, and she is very personable on Twitter as well. She introduced me to a Wheel of Wellness, created by Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer. It takes the notion that wellness isn't just about fitness, or spirituality, or food choices, or...any one thing, really. To quote the Counselor Musing blog:
"A wheel doesn't function well when a part is broken. It gets lose, wobbles, and eventually can no longer function properly. Overall wellness is important, and is made up of many smaller parts. Even if some of these parts are working well, if there's a part that's broken, that will decrease the overall wellness of the whole."
Here is what it looks like:

If you can't see the spokes, they say (clockwise from top) Cultural Identity, Sense of Worth, Sense of Control, Realistic Beliefs, Emotional Awareness & Coping, Problem Solving and Creativity, Sense of Humor, Nutrition, Exercise, Self Care, Stress Management, and Gender Identity. It is easy, even for ME, to see how different things can impact the whole. I don't necessarily agree with the naming of the spokes or the parts, but that isn't what's important. The idea that if you need work in any area and chose to IGNORE it, eventually the wheel will break. I printed the wheel and then grabbed a pencil. My first instinct was to rename the parts, but I didn't. I kept it as is, and did the following: I shaded in each spoke to the level that I thought I had reached. Huh? Let's take Gender Identity. I am secure with that, so I shaded in the entire spoke. Emotional Awareness & Coping? Let's just say I didn't need to sharpen my pencil after shading that one! This exercise gave me a visual sense of where I think I am with respect to these components of wellness. I love it!

How does this tie in to my original thoughts about the 0 to 10 scale? Simply. Here is my suggestion:

Take an aspect of your life. For my blog's purpose, I'll use running as an example, but it could just as easily be work, golf, bowling, underwater basket weaving, whatever. Yes, "running" is a broad topic, so...let's narrow that down to...consistency of training. Ask yourself, "on a scale of 0 to 10, where would you rate yourself on consistency with your training?" I will answer 4. Here's the amazing follow up question: What will it take to get you to a 6? Amazing, isn't it? Think about your answer, and then...DO IT.

Implement the changes that will get you to that 6!! And then, when you get to 6, ask yourself both questions again! Repeat as necessary.

Wow. Amazingly simple, but I think that you will find it very effective, if used with HONESTY and no BS.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Today was supposed to be the day that I posted all of the wonderful pictures that I took on the 4th. A slice of small town America: parade with loads of tractors, kids' baseball teams, out of step marching bands, and some cool lookin' hot-rods. Oh, and fireworks. But last night I didn't feel like loading/cropping the pictures, so I didn't post them (clearly).
Instead, I invite you to read a guest post by my long-time friend and confidant Job Bisgachi. Job (pronounced JOBE) and I go waaay back, back to the times of Snoopy lunchboxes, folded up paper football games in the library, chopping wood, and even my turbulent past. He and I were talking about blogging and such a while ago, and he thought that it would be 'fun' to guest host for me.
I am not certain that he was the BEST choice for my first guest spot, but here goes.....
And so, I give you, Job.

Hey all! Job Bisgachi here. As Gene has probably already said, he and I go way back. It is so much fun to be writing here for him, i just can't tell you how much. I won't bore you with stories from Gene's past, and I'm not here to say what a great guy he is (or can be...). I do, however, want to offer some of my own insight into this whole fitness/wellness lifestyle.
I have never been the fittest person in the room. I have often tried to be; dabbling in mountain biking, water aerobics, rock climbing, hiking, 'speed hiking', and running. I love food. For me, eating is (or should be as often as possible) an event. An experience; not just something that you do because it is 'time to eat'. If it is noon and i am not hungry, then i won't eat. unless, of course, there is something really tasty or interesting to be had, then, well, all bets are off! I pay attention to textures, to temperatures, to taste, to smell, to presentation....all of it. I should have been a, what does he call them? oh, a 'foodie'.
Then one day i just decided that I had had enough of this half assed ness, and set my mind to improving my health status. Even though this has been a tough decision for me, it has been the right one. Like a quotation that has been buzzing around lately says, "I didn't say it would be easy. I said it would be worth it." Amen..... I am still not looking to be the fittest person in the room. But i sure as heck don't want to be the LEAST fit person, either. The only person who has control over that is ME. Since I am not being fed through a tube, and am not limited in my physical capapbilities (no, i cannot lift a car. today. but if i wanted to, i could make that happen.).
The change must begin within. If I want to be a rocket scientist, I have to do the work. If I want to someday hike Aconcogua, I have to be the one to do the preparations, etc. I cannot sit back, in my nauga-hide barka lounger and wait for it to happen. Because it won't.
Why am I preaching? Well, to be honest, I am hoping that Gene will read this with fresh eyes and do what he knows he has to do. Also, well, if I can inspire others (what, he has like 5 readers, right?) to grab the bull by the horns, that'd be great. So the next time you are thinking about making a change (for the BETTER. ALWAYS FOR THE BETTER) remember that it HAS to begin with YOU.
And now, back to Eugene. ahahahaahahah...that NEVER gets old.....get it? you, Gene? ahahah....i crack myself up...

Friday, July 1, 2011

Tonight I brought B with me to the track for class. On Wednesday there was baseball practice and a few ultimate frisbee games, and i figured he could watch them while we did our thing. As SOON as we got there, he decided to run a lap. He just took off running. In his Lighting McQueen flip-flops. ZOOM, off he went. I was talking with the students and missed a photo op, so i had him run an extra 10M or so to catch this shot...

It was a great night to run. I kinda wanted to stick around after class and do some running on my own, but that wasn’t to be tonight. And that is OK. After class B and I went over to the playground and he cruised around the play set (is that what they are called? I don’t know!). This one has a tower that is very high, and he went right up it without hesitation. Me? I was all puckered up on the ground, waiting for him to go down the slide…

Once he went up and down enough times to make…well, let’s just say he went up and down a lot…we ordered some pizza and brought it home for dinner. Timing was good, I think, because this was the sky as we left:

All in all, great time at the track this evening! Have a great Saturday, everyone. We’ll be running around the upper valley, getting doors, plywood, antique beds, and who knows what else. See you later!!!!

remember juneathon(g)? i posted about it a few times at the beginning of the month, then just stopped using in my titles, but still posted about (mostly) running all month.
this month was my best ~athon(g) month so far!! did nearly 60 miles. not a lot, to be sure, but i consider it a win. (and so should YOU. bah.)
Along the way I have had some interesting experiences (classes), participated in a virtual race (SYTO5k), read some fun blogs, and was egged on by several people from across the Pond. All in all, an entertaining month of running/biking, logging, and blogging.
Big thank you to Cathy for hosting and organising the event. Are shirts available??????

My last run of the month was last evening. It was only 2 miles, but here's how it really went:
Warm up:
25 butt kicks
25 jumping jacks
(2 sets)
25 squats
25 2-step Heismans
(2 sets)
these were performed in the back parking lot of a local bank. cars came through to use the ATM, and lemme tell ya...i got some ODD looks. especially while doing the Heismans...
After warm up...this:
1 Mile Run
25 burpees
50 sit ups
25 push ups
25 pull ups (I only managed 15!!!)
1 Mile Run
on the clock. my first mile fell in 8:31. the other stuff took me around 3 minutes, not including 15 second break between exercises. second mile lasted 9:30. i walked. 3 times, but for less than 50 yards total. I was sucking wind big time.
I couldn't figure out why....UNTIL....i remembered that on tuesday i donated 'double reds', which is to say instead of donating a pint of whole blood, i donated 2 pints of RED BLOOD CELLS. you know, the ones that carry oxygen to our cells, so they can use in to burn energy? yea, those. so I'm low, which CAN explain why I was beat. Let's go with that, shall we?

Running class continues to move along well; we went to a local track on Wednesday, and will go back again tonight. Good times!

Have a great 4th weekend, all!!!! Maybe I'll be back during the weekend....dunno.